Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted. (Hebrews 2:14–18)

How is it possible, he is saying, for Christ to style himself our brother or call us really children unless he bears the same nature? Hence on assuming it He overcame the influence of death and did away with the dread besetting us. We lived ever in the dread of death because we were forced to haul the yoke of mortality. Now, it was very necessary for Him to use the phrase “like His brethren” so as to refute the calumny of mere appearance.

He treated of all these matters to teach those suspecting the Son was less than the angels on account of the passion that He was obliged to undergo the passion; he explains it more clearly in what follows as well. If He had assumed the nature of angels, He would have proved superior to death; but since what He assumed was human, through the passion He paid humankind's debt, while through the resurrection of the body that had suffered he demonstrated His own power. Now, it was very wise of the divine apostle to use the proper name instead of a generic name: he did not say, “He takes hold of human seed,” but “He takes hold of Abraham's seed,” reminding them also of the promise made to Abraham. In like manner, He shared even food with us, suffered fatigue, was downhearted, wept, and suffered death. He presented His saving death as an offering: the body He had assumed He offered for the whole of creation. He included something else as well for their consolation: having learned by experience the weakness of human nature in living under the law and under grace, He extends assistance to those under attack. This is said in respect of humanity: He is our high priest not as God but as human; He suffered not as God but as human; it was not as God that he learned our condition, but as God and creator he has a clear grasp of everything.

Theodoret of Cyrus, Interpretation of Hebrews 2

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Third Sunday after Epiphany

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:16–21)

Our Savior, after reading this prophecy through in the synagogue one day to a multitude of Jews, shut the book and said, “This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears.” He began his own teaching from that point. He began to preach the gospel to the poor, putting in the forefront of his blessings: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Yes, He proclaimed forgiveness to those who were hampered by evil spirits and bound for a long time like slaves by demons. He invited all to be free and to escape from the bonds of sin, when He said, “Come to me, all you that labor, and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you.”

To the blind He gave sight, giving the power of seeing to those whose bodily vision was destroyed. He showered those in ancient times who were blind in their minds to the truth with the vision of the light of true religion. The prophecy before us shows it to be essential that Christ himself should be the originator and leader of the gospel activity. The same prophet foretells that after Him His own disciples should be ministers of the same system: “How beautiful are the feet of them that bring good tidings of good things, and of those that bring good tidings of peace.”

Here He says very particularly that it is the feet of those who publish the good news of Christ that are beautiful. For how could they not be beautiful, which in so small, so short a time have run over the whole earth and filled every place with the holy teaching about the Savior of the world?

Eusebius of Caesarea, Proof of the Gospel 3.1.88C–89A

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Second Sunday after Epiphany

For Zion’s sake I will not be silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until My righteousness goes forth as light, and My salvation burns like a lamp. The Gentiles will see your righteousness, and kings your glory; and one will call you by your new name, which the Lord shall name. You shall also be a crown of beauty in the Lord’s hand, and the diadem of a kingdom in the hand of your God. You shall no longer be called Forsaken, and your land shall not be called Desert; for you shall be called My Will, and in your land, the Inhabited Earth. As a young man lives in wedlock with a virgin, so shall your sons dwell with you, and as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so the Lord shall rejoice over you. (Isaiah 62:1–5 LXX)

Christ appeared to those on earth as righteousness and as salvation. He makes righteous and he saves, being himself the true light, a torch in the darkness as it were. He himself said, As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. Everything had remained in mist and darkness. The devil had darkened the hearts of all, and there was no one who does good or knows righteousness, that is, the way to salvation. No one possessed the light from above that enlightens the mind, nor was anyone able to perceive with the eyes of understanding the true nature of God, who is Creator and Lord of all. However, after the Savior rose like a light and a torch, the world was illuminated and through Him we have seen the way of salvation.

Then the prophet speaks to the Church that was gathered from the company of the Jews. The multitude of the Gentiles had not yet been drawn in. Nations shall see your righteousness, and kings your glory. The righteousness mentioned in this verse, as well as the glory, is nothing else than our Lord Jesus the Christ. We have been justified in Him, and we have been enriched by His glory. We have become His, and we are called His chosen ones. We have been placed under His yoke and scepter and delivered from the cruel tyranny of the one who ruled us.

Because Zion no longer worships God according to the law and has embraced the new life according to the gospel, she casts off her old name and has been given a new name that befits the God of all, as is indicated in the words: He shall call you by your name, which the Lord will name. No longer will she be called synagogue but Church of the living God, His city and His house. The inspired David was thinking of her when he said, Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God.

Isaiah teaches that the Church will shine with splendor and be crowned with incomparable beauty. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. Every soul will be holy, together with the whole Church, and the ranks of the saints will be like a crown woven from many flowers or a royal tiara shining with stones from India and sparkling with splendor. For the deeds of the saints are valorous and many; like different ornaments they are not all alike but varied. Thus, the inspired David describes the Church of Christ clothed in a many-colored garment. The prophet also adds that the crown of beauty is in the hand of the Lord, that is, I will hide you in the shadow of my hand.

Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Isaiah 5.5.62

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to Jesus' Baptism

Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.” And with many other exhortations he preached to the people. But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison. When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:15–22)

Today, then, is another kind of birth of the Savior. We see Him born with the same sort of signs, the same sort of wonders, but with greater mystery. And the Holy Spirit, who was present to Him then in the womb, now pours out upon Him in the torrent. He who then purified Mary for Him now sanctifies the running waters for Him. The Father who then overshadowed in power now cries out with His voice. And He who then, as if choosing the more prudent course, manifested Himself as a cloud at the nativity now bears witness to the truth; for God says: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear Him. Clearly the second birth is more excellent than the first. For the one brought forth Christ in silence and without a witness, but the other baptized the Lord gloriously with a profession of divinity; from the one Joseph, thought to be the father, absents himself, but at the other God the Father, not believed in, manifests Himself; in the one the mother labors under suspicion because in her condition she lacked a father, but in the other she is honored because God attests to His Son.…

Today, then, He is baptized in the Jordan. What sort of baptism is this, when the one who is dipped is purer than the font, and where the water that soaks the one whom it has received is not dirtied but honored with blessings? What sort of baptism is this of the Savior, I ask, in which the streams are made pure more than they purify? For by a new kind of consecration the water does not so much wash Christ as submit to being washed. Since the Savior plunged into the waters, He sanctified the outpouring of every flood and the course of every stream by the mystery of His baptism, so that when someone wishes to be baptized in the name of the Lord it is not so much the waters of this world that cover him but the waters of Christ that purify him. Yet the Savior willed to be baptized for this reason—not that He might cleanse Himself but that He might cleanse the waters for our sake.

Maximus of Turin, Sermon 13A 2–3

Patristic Wisdom for Epiphany

Shine, shine, O Jerusalem, for your light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. Behold, darkness and gloom shall cover the earth upon the nations, but the Lord will shine on you; and His glory shall be seen upon you. Kings shall come to your light, and the Gentiles to your brightness. Lift up your eyes all around, and see your children gathered together. Behold, all your sons come from afar, and your daughters shall be lifted upon their shoulders. Then you will see, fear and be amazed in your heart, because the wealth of the sea and of nations and peoples shall change their course and turn to you. Herds of camels shall come to you, and the camels of Midian and Ephah shall cover you. All those from Sheba shall come bearing gold, and they shall bring frankincense and proclaim the good news of the Lord’s salvation. (Isaiah 60:1–6 LXX)

When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.(Matthew 2:9–11)

How could anyone doubt that the nature of God the Word is filled with true and regal dominion? Certainly we must understand this nature as being in the very heights befitting to God. Since He appeared as a man, however, a being upon whom all things are bestowed as gifts, He received as a man, even though He is full and gives to all from His own fullness. He made our poverty His own, and we see in Christ the strange and rare paradox of Lordship in servant’s form and divine glory in human abasement. That which was under the yoke in terms of the limitations of manhood was crowned with royal dignities, and that which was humble was raised to the most supreme excellence. The Only Begotten did not become man only to remain in the limits of the emptying. The point was that He who was God by nature should, in the act of self-emptying, assume everything that went along with it. This was how He would be revealed as ennobling the nature of man in Himself by making it participate in his own sacred and divine honors. We shall find that even the saints call the Son of God the “Glory” of God the Father, and King, and Lord, even when He became a man. Isaiah, for example, says in one place:… “Shine forth Jerusalem for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. Behold, darkness and gloom may cover the earth, but over you the Lord shall be made manifest and his glory shall be seen upon you.”

Cyril of Alexandria, On the Unity of Christ

Let us see how glorious was the dignity that attended the king who had been born. For immediately the Magi fall down and worship the one born as Lord, and there in His very cradle they venerate the infancy of the crying child by offering him gifts. They perceive one thing with the eyes of the body, something else with the vision of their mind. The humbleness of the body He assumed is seen, but the glory of His divinity is not concealed. It is a child who is seen, but it is God who is adored. How inexpressible is this mystery of the divine condescension! For our sake that incomprehensible and eternal nature does not disdain taking on the infirmities of our flesh. The Son of God, who is God of the universe, is born as a human being in a body. He permits Himself to be placed in a manger, within which are the heavens. He is confined to a cradle, one whom the world does not have room for. He is heard in the voice of a crying infant, at whose voice the whole world trembled in the time of his passion. And so, the Magi recognize this God of glory and Lord of majesty when they see Him as a child. Isaiah likewise shows that this child was both God and the eternal king, when he said, “For a child has been born to you; a son has been given to you, whose empire has been made on his shoulders.”

Chromatius of Aquileia, Tractate on Matthew 5.1

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Second Sunday after Christmas

And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him. His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it; but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.” And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them. Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. (Luke 2:40–52)

Because He was a small child, He is found “in the midst of the teachers,” sanctifying and instructing them. Because He was a small child, He is found “in their midst,” not teaching them but “asking questions.” He did this because it suited His age, to teach us what befits boys, even if they are wise and learned. They should rather hear their teachers than want to teach them, and not show off with empty displays. As I was saying, He interrogated the teachers not to learn anything, but to teach them by His questions. From one fountain of doctrine, there flow both wise questions and wise answers. It is part of the same wisdom to know what you should ask and what you should answer. It was right for the Savior first to become a master of learned interrogation; later He would answer questions according to God’s Reason and Word.

Origen, Homilies on Luke 19.6

He is said to have progressed in wisdom and age and grace, because He did increase in age and by this increase in age brought more into evidence the wisdom inherent in Him; further, because by making what is ours altogether His own He made His own the progress of men in wisdom and grace, as well as the fulfillment of the Father’s will, which is to say, men’s knowledge of God and their salvation. Now, those who say that He progressed in wisdom and grace in the sense of receiving an increase in these are saying that the union was not made from the first instant of the flesh’s existence. Neither are they holding the hypostatic union, but, misled by the empty-headed Nestorius, they are talking preposterously of a relative union and simple indwelling, “understanding neither the things they say, nor whereof they affirm.” For, if from the first instant of its existence the flesh was truly united to God the Word—rather, had existence in Him and identity of person with Him—how did it not enjoy perfectly all wisdom and grace? It did not share the grace and neither did it participate by grace in the things of the Word; rather, because the human and divine things had become proper to the one Christ by the hypostatic union, then, since the same was at once God and man, it gushed forth with the grace and the wisdom and the fullness of all good things for the world.

John of Damascus, Orthodox Faith 3.22